Who are the top quarterbacks in Class 6A Texas high school football? Quinn Ewers headlines SBLive's Top 10

Who’s the top signal caller in Texas high school football? Who’s poised for a breakout season behind center, and which quarterbacks are flying under the radar?

Who’s the top signal caller in Texas high school football? Who’s poised for a breakout season behind center, and which quarterbacks are flying under the radar?

In the next few weeks, we’ll sort out those questions and more by breaking down the Top 10 players at every position in Class 6A, 5A and 1A-4A heading into the 2021 Texas high school football season.

We kick things off by taking a look at the Top 10 quarterbacks in 6A across the state heading into this upcoming season.

TOP 10 CLASS 6A QUARTERBACKS

1. Quinn Ewers, Southlake Carroll

Ewers is a consensus five-star recruit and the top ranked Class of 2022 quarterback among major recruiting services like 247 Sports, ESPN and Rivals. Southlake’s signal caller missed four district games and the first two rounds of the playoffs after sustaining a mid-season injury that required surgery, but still recorded 305.3 yards per game on 66.0% passing with 28 touchdowns and five interceptions through eight games. Ewers, an Ohio State commit, led Southlake Carroll to the 6A DI state title game in 2020 and was one of four Texas quarterbacks invited to compete at the Elite 11 Finals last month in California. He should be primed for a big season in his third year as the Dragons’ starting quarterback with receiver Landon Samson (Nebraska commit), tight end RJ Maryland (Boston College commit) and running back Owen Allen all back in the mix as well.

2. Cade Klubnik, Austin Westlake

Cade Klubnik, Austin Westlake

Klubnik thrived in his first full season as Austin Westlake’s starter under center. He helped lead the Chaparrals to a 14-0 record and the school’s second straight state championship after topping Southlake Carroll in the 6A DI title game. He threw for 3,495 yards and 35 touchdowns to just three interceptions while completing 66.7% of his passes. Klubnik, who has tallied a 15-0 career record at Westlake as a starter, also won the Elite 11 Finals throwing competition earlier this summer. Klubnik, who has committed to Clemson, is a consensus four-star recruit among the major recruiting services and tabbed as the fifth best high school quarterback nationally. Expect Klubnik’s numbers to jump even further with three starters on the offensive line, including tackles Connor Robertson (Texas commit) and Bray Lynch (Indiana commit), returning.

3. Conner Weigman, Cypress Bridgeland

Weigman starts his senior season at Cypress Bridgeland as the Houston area’s leading returning passer. The Texas A&M commit threw for 3,803 yards and led all quarterbacks in Texas high school football with 42 touchdown passes in 2020 while adding 579 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. He led the Bears to an unbeaten regular season, a District 16-6A championship and third-round playoff appearance, where Bridgeland fell 48-24 to Rockwall-Heath. He was also one of four Texas quarterbacks to travel to the Elite 11 Finals earlier this summer. Weigman showed strides in second season as a starter, throwing for 220 yards or more in all 13 games and eclipsing the 300-yard mark through the air four times. His versatility as a runner and passer should make Weigman one of the most impactful offensive players throughout the state in 2021.

4. Bishop Davenport, Spring

Davenport was electric in his first full season as Spring’s starting signal caller. He threw for 3,459 yards, 36 touchdowns and 3 three interceptions on 69.6% passing as a junior while leading the Lions to an unbeaten regular season, 9-1 record and third-round 6A DI playoff appearance. Davenport also showed the ability to expand his game by becoming an equally dangerous threat on the ground after running for 680 yards and seven touchdowns on 97 carries. He topped 400 total yards of offense in six of Spring’s 10 games, including a 415-yard and three-touchdown performance against DeSoto in the regional semifinals. Davenport announced his commitment to Utah State in late June and should be poised for a huge senior season with two of his top receivers — Travis Simms Jr. and Cadyn Bradley — returning as well.

5. Braedyn Locke, Rockwall

Locke improved as a passer in Year 2 as Rockwall’s starting quarterback last year. He threw for 3,277 yards and 40 touchdowns in 12 games, both of which were down compared to his breakout sophomore season. However, Locke cut down on his interceptions from 11 as a sophomore to six as a senior and raised his completion percentage (67.7%) by 8.8% proving to be a passer with elite precision in addition to a big arm. Locke holds offers from nearly a dozen DI college programs, but committed to play at Mississippi State over Georgia Tech, Louisville and Miami, among others, in early May. The Yellowjackets are 22-5 when Locke starts, and another big campaign at Rockwall will push him well beyond 100 career passing touchdowns (92) and 10,000 career passing yards (7,582).

6. Josh Hoover, Rockwall-Heath

Hoover returns to Rockwall-Heath as the DFW area’s top returning passer. In his second season under center for the Hawks, he threw for 3,556 yards, 36 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on 63.4% passing. Hoover improved across the board statistically as a junior and helped lead Rockwall-Heath to the Region II championship game in the 6A DII playoffs. His most jaw-dropping performance came during a 56-28 area-round playoff victory against Temple, when he aired it out for 446 yards and five touchdowns on 25-of-34 passing. Hoover collected nearly two dozen DI offers before committing to Indiana in late June. He’s back alongside running back Zach Evans (Minnesota commit) and receiver Jay Fair (Auburn commit) to lead eight returning starters on an offense that averaged 45.3 points per game in 2020.

7. Nick Evers, Flower Mound

Evers, who also attended the Elite 11 Finals, enters 2021 as one of the most versatile dual-threat quarterbacks throughout the state. Flower Mound’s signal caller enjoyed a breakout campaign during his first season as a starter in 2020 throwing for 2,578 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions on 66.9% passing while adding 218 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Evers threw four touchdown passes each in three of his last four games as a junior and should be well positioned to carry that positive momentum into his senior season. The Jaguars will lean on Evers, a Florida commit, and an offense that returns seven starters, including leading rusher Peyton Porter and four of the squad’s five leading receivers from last season. Flower Mound will look to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2019 and another huge season from Evers could propel the team there.

8. Alex Orji, Sachse

Orji enters his senior season for Sachse as one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks anywhere in Texas high school football. As a junior, he threw for 1,647 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions on 52.4% passing while also running for 980 yards and 16 touchdowns. Orji, a Virginia Tech commit, passed the 100-yard mark on the ground in each of the Mustangs’ first six games and scored at least one touchdown on the ground in all eight of the team’s regular-season games. His top 2020 performance came during Sasche’s season opener against Coppell, when Orji combined to tally 520 total yards and four touchdowns between the air and ground attack. As a senior, he should be poised to help the Mustangs back into the playoffs with six fellow offensive starters returning from last year’s squad.

9. Bo Edmundson, Lake Travis

Edmundson saw limited action for Lake Travis last season as a sophomore, but impressed during his time under center. The Cavaliers’ now-junior quarterback completed 67.9% of his passes while racking up 1,403 yards, 17 touchdowns and two interceptions through the air. Emundson led Lake Travis to a 4-0 record against District 26-6A competition in October when he led the Cavs to big district wins with 448 yards and six touchdown passes against Nuda Hays and 362 passing yards and five touchdowns against Austin High. He started again for the Cavaliers’ bi-district round game in the 6A DI playoffs where he threw for 206 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in a loss to Round Rock. Edmundson is regarded as one of the top junior quarterback prospects across the state and should improve his recruiting stock this fall play alongside receiver Caleb Burton (Ohio State commit), who’s ranked as the No. 2 wide receiver in Texas by 247 Sports.

10. Andrew Martinez, El Paso Eastwood

Martinez, the only West Texas representative on this list, terrorized opposing defenses throughout El Paso last fall. During a shortened junior season, he led El Paso Eastwood to a 5-0 regular-season record and District 1-6A championship while averaging 48.2 points per game in district play. Martinez threw for 1,767 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 61.9% of his passes. He threw for multiple touchdown passes in each of the Troopers’ six games and topped the 300-yard mark through the air three times. Martinez saved his best for last during a 42-35 loss to Abilene in the bi-district round of the 6A DI playoffs. During his electric performance against Abilene, he threw for 478 yards, four touchdowns and an interception on 32-of-61 passing and added a receiving touchdown. Martinez took over under center midway through his sophomore campaign and enters his third year starting for the Troopers poised to surpass 2,000 passing yards in a season for the first time in his career. 

Other Class 6A QBs who received consideration: Cardell Williams, Spring Westfield; Tanner Murray, Langham Creek; Diego Tello, Austin Bowie; Jake Strong, Justin Northwest; Jalen Morrison, Houston Heights; Cedric Harden, Cedar Hill; Caleb Koger, Katy.